You are warmly welcomed to the MA Social Work course at Canterbury Christ Church University. Social work is an inspiring and rewarding profession and we are very pleased that you have decided to join us here, where you will be part of a local, national, and international community of social work. We can assure you of our support throughout your journey from academic and professional learning to qualified practice.
Dr Emma Ainsley
Course Director
Academic Calendar: Semesters with Professional Learning Block
View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2024-25 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays.
You will be a student in the Faculty of Medicine, Health, and Social Care, which offers a wide variety of education and research opportunities. I hope that this is the beginning of a long association with Canterbury Christ Church University, which will continue after you have completed this course.
We look forward to meeting you at Welcome Week where we have planned activities to prepare you for your social work journey. It is beneficial for you to attend all activities as outlined in your Welcome Week timetable.
Please ensure that you engage with occupational health clearance and DBS processes required by the Admissions Team. Failure to complete this by the time you register on the course may result in you not being able to proceed with your studies. Please also ensure you engage with the Placement Planning Form FoMHSC 2024/2025.
Please make sure you engage with your Welcome schedule.
In addition to your course welcome activities, you can also join us at our Health Hub, timings below, where we can help you with any questions you may have or direct you to the most appropriate service.
You are now on your own exciting journey, but you are also part of our community where we support each other to grow and flourish at university and beyond. Drop in and stay connected, meet new friends and your peers. Meet and chat to our placements team, academic course administration team and existing students.
Drop in on the 2nd floor of the Verena Holmes building in VH 2.60 during any of the times below:
Follow us on our CCCU_Health Instagram account to keep up to date with what is happening for students.
Students need to obtain Occupational Health clearance to ensure they are fit to practice. You will be prompted via your ‘MyRecord’ to complete a clearance check and directed to an online health questionnaire. You are not required to attend an Occupational Health vaccination appointment as a Social Work student.
Please note, as a Social Work student you will not be supplied with uniform by the university.
For enquiries about your occupational health clearance please email cccustudents@ohworks.co.uk or phone 01227 286288.
The MA Social Work course has both academic (taught) and professional (practice) components. You will be expected to build on your skills as an autonomous learner through self-directed learning activities, seminar discussion groups, and skills-based activities to lay the foundation for practice.
It would be helpful to immerse yourself in any activity that is social work related. The course will teach you about social work generally and will enable you to successfully work in a range of settings. The course provides you with the opportunity to build on your previous experiences and to develop the skills and knowledge required for effective social work practice.
We would encourage you to review the course structure and module options via your course page before you arrive.
You can refresh your social work skills and knowledge by reading the book ‘How to be a Social Worker: A Critical Guide for students’ by Dunk-West Patricia (2018), 2nd edition, published by Bloomsbury Publishing PL.
Additionally, you might find it interesting and useful to:
To get started, please have a look at the websites of Social Work England (SWE) and the British Association of Social Work (BASW) which will give you some interesting insights into the social work role, standards, and requirements in practice.
You can also read BASW England Student and NQSW Group’s ‘Top Tip Guide for Student Social Workers,’ the only one of its kind to be written by, and for, students and experts by experience. Packed with study resources, direct work tools and reflections, this is an invaluable guide to support learning at university: Layout 1 (basw.co.uk)
International students: don't miss out! Make sure you register for our international student success programme which provides practical advice on preparing to live and study in the UK.
CourseSupport-health@canterbury.ac.uk